Method of and means for waterproofing buildings



June 4, 1935. w n- 2,003,618

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR WATERPROOFING BUILDINGS Filed June 15, 19:52

Patented June 4, 1935 PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR WATER-PBOOFING BUILDINGS Edwin H. White, Newark, N. 1., aeeignor to Americanlteeni'orced Paper Company, Atticboro, Mm, a corporation ofMassachusetts Application June 15, 1932, Serial No. 617,373

2Claims.

This invention relatesto a method of and means for waterproofingbulidings and more particularly to the membrane system as distinguishfrom the integral system.

In the integral system an effort is made to render the fioor or wall ofa building waterproof by mixing concrete with a substance intended torender the concrete itself waterproof, whereas in the membrane system aspecial waterproof layer is provided within the fioor or wall structureor near a surface thereof.

It is important that this waterproof layer or membrane shall form acontinuous water impervious sheet covering the entire area to berendered waterproof so that water will not pass therethrough even underpressure, and that the waterproofing layers be sufilciently elastic andflexible to prevent being ruptured by the formation of cracks in thefioor or other structure 29 with which the membrane is employed.

The membrane system of waterproofing may be employed to waterproof thebasement of buildings, in the construction of floors for laundries anddairies or to prevent the water from fire sprinklers from passingthrough a floor, in the construction of bridges, subways, tunnels andswimming pools and in various other building structures where watertight floors and walls are required.

Heretofore in employing the membrane system of waterproofing the fioorand walls to be made water impervious have been covered with severallayers of felt, burlap or cotton fabric laid one over the other inoverlapping relation and each layer when applied has been mopped orcoated with a bituminous substance, such as asphalt, to firmly unite theadjacent layers and form a flexible waterproof membrane.

Burlap and cotton goods, however, are not water impervious, even whenimpregnated with asphalt since the fibres of the fabric will absorbmoisture and water will also tend to pass through the apertures orinterstices of the weave, and felt is-open to the objection that ittends to disintegrate in the presence of moisture.

In accordance with the present invention the so-called membrane ispreformed to a. plurality of sheets of material and is renderedinherently waterproof by presaturating or impregnating at least one ofthe sheets of the multiply sheet material with a waterproofingsubstance, such for instance as asphalt, before the plurality of sheetsare assembled together to form the multiply structure.

Since paper is of a homogeneous nature and devoid of the openinginherent in all woven or textile fabrics, it will act efl'ectively toprevent the passage of water when combined as an element with othersheet material by a waterproof adhesive, and an important feature of thepresent invention therefore consists in a multiply water impervioussheet material, one of the components of which consists of a waterimpervious sheet secured to the other compol0 nents by a waterproofadhesive either with or without a reenforcement between the componentsheets.

In some cases it may be desirable to incorporate between the layers orcomponent sheets a reenforcement which, while adding strength to themultiply sheet material, will be susceptible of sufiicient yield toaccommodate the multiply sheet material to expansion and contractionwithout rupture even where the walls or floors of the building shouldcrack to any usual extent. Such reenforcement may be particularlydesirable where the components of the multiply sheet material are mainlyor wholly formed of paper sheets secured together by a waterproofadhesive.

The reenforcement above mentioned may be variously contrived but in thepresent instance of the invention it is composed of interwoven filamentssuch as spun or unspun fibres embedded in the waterproof adhesivebetween the components of the multiply sheet material.

It has been found in practice that where one or more of the componentsof the multiply sheet material is or. are formed. of paper the desiredimpervious character may be secured by presaturating one or more of thepaper sheets with a bituminous product, such as hot asphalt, whereby thepaper sheet or sheets become permanently impervious to the passage ofwater even under pressure; the result being that a preformed multiplysheet material is produced in which at least one sheet is presaturatedor impregnated with a waterproof material before the sheets are unitedtogether by a waterproof adhesive. The multiply sheet material thusformed comprises therefore a multiply sheet structure wherein at leastone of the components is composed of a presaturated or impregnatedsheet.

The waterproofing membrane thus formed may be applied by a singleoperation and there after effectively prevent the passage of water whileat the same time being sufilciently yieldable or elastic to accommodatefor expansion 55 dowanddoorheads.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionwhen read in connection with the accomp yi drawing illustrating severalapplications of the invention.

I In the drawing:-

Pig. 1 is a perspective view of mechanism for impregnating or saturatinga sheet of paper with a waterproofing substance;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a reenforced, multiply, waterproof paperemployed in carrying out the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a number of the sheets of Pig. 2adhesively secured together in overlapping relation to form a waterimpervious layer or membrane for a fioor;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the floor and basement wallof a building made waterproof in accordance with the present meth- 0d;and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a 'wall of a building provided withflashing formed of the reenforced, multip y. waterproof paper of Fig. 2.

The invention will be hereinafter described in connection with apreformed multiply sheet material where two sheets of paper constitutecom ponent parts of the material, but it is to be understood, of course,that this is only one of the many forms which the multiply sheetmaterial may take, the essentials .being that at least one of thecomponent sheets of the multiply sheet material be so pro-saturated witha waterproofing material or rendered impervious to the passage of water.

Where two sheets of paper constitute the component parts of the multiplysheet material one at least of these sheets will be pro-saturated with awaterproofing material and then the two sheets I and 2,asshown,arefirmlysecuredtogether face to face by a waterproof adhesive3, such for instance as asphalt. The reenforcing material providedbetween the sheets I and 2 'maybeformedofspunorunspunfibres,filaments orwoven material, and the sheets are shown as reenforced bothlongitudinally and "transversely by straightened unspun fibres I and Isecuredbetween the sheetsi and 2 by the adhesive 3.

While the reenforced paper lust described is waterproof due to thewaterproof adhesive I applied between the sheets of paper, the outerfaces of the sheets of paper if exposed to moisture may tend todeteriorate over a period of years if fre- -quently acted upon by water,and since it is desirable that the waterproofing material employed {in abuilding shall last practically as'long as the building itself, itisimportant that deterioration of the paper as a result of exposure tomoisture be prevented.

This is accomplished by impregnating or saturating each sheet I and 2with a waterproofing material, such as hot asphalt. The saturatingmaterial may be applied as shown in Fig. 1, by passing a sheet of papersupplied by the roll 6 through a tank 1 containing hot asphalt or otherwaterproofing material. The paper is shown as they may be reenforced byapplying the fibres l and I between the sheets and pressing the sheets Iand 2 together to cause themto be united by the asphalt coating 3. Thereenforced paper I5 thus produced is not only completely impervious towater, but the material impregnating the sheet I and 2 will preventthese sheets from deteriorating even when exposed to moisture over aperiod of years.

In employing the membrane system to waterproof a building construction,the waterproofing membrane "formed of the sheets I! may be applied tothe upper face of a-fioor II, as shown in Fig. 3. In many constructions,however, the waterproofing membrane is positioned between an upper fioorarea It and lower fioor area I9, or between an inner wall area 2. and'outer wall area 2i, as shown in Fig. 4.

When the membrane system is used to exclude water from the basement of abuilding it is essential that the fioor structure applied over themembrane be designed to withstand the hydrostatic pressure, and the sameis true with respect to basement walls.

The waterproofing material It is formed in situ by laying any desirednumber of reenforced waterproof sheets I5, one over the other, inoverlapping relation and completely covering each sheet I! when appliedwith a coatingor mopping of bituminous substance 22, such as hotasphalt. In the construction shown in Fig. 3 the membrane sheet "has athickness throughout of not less than three sheets II. Thiswill be foundsufilcient in many constructions to withstand a substantial waterpressure and its penetrating properties.

A waterproof membrane constructed as herein shown and described will besufficiently flexible and elastic to remain intact when cracks form inthe fioor in which it is embedded, so that water entering such crackswill not pass through the membrane. If however, it should be desirableto increase the stretching properties of themembrane, the multiply paperII or the sheets I and 2 of which it is constructed may be crimped, orcrinkled to increase their stretching properties in one or bothdirections.

The waterproof multiply paper I5 is well adapted for use as a specialflashing material adapted to prevent water from entering through theouter walls of a building, adjacent spandrels and window and door heads,and such use of the paper II is illustrated in Fig. 5' where it is shownas embedded in the wall 23 in position to prevent rain water fromentering around the beams 21 and II.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of waterproofing the fioor of a building constructionwhich consists in forming a lower fioor area, applying theretosuccessive layers of waterproof, multiply sheet material, eachconsisting of two sheets of impervious paper saturated with awaterproofing substance and reenforced by filaments adhesively securedbetween the sheets, securing said layers together in overlappingrelation by applying a bituminous binder over each sheet to form aflexible membrane having complete water impervious continuity throughoutthe floor area, and laying dily upon said membrane the upper floor area.

2. The method of waterproofing a floor or wall of a building, whichconsists in forming the floor or wall area to be waterprooted, applyingthereto 10 a composite flexible membrane sheet comprising as a part ofits components at least one layer 01' paper devoid of interstices andrendered waterproof by a bituminous product and strengthened by a seriesof unspun fibres embedded in the bituminous product to permit expansionand contraction without rupturing, and 8ecuring a number of suchmembrane sheets together in overlapping relation by a bituminous binder.

EDWIN H. WHITE.

